Not Your Average Horror Story
by PleaseforPeace
Summary: AU - Arthur is a PI at Camelot, he tries to solve whatever case he is given, no matter the importance. He and his team of "misfits" are handed a case that will test them all. Starting with disappearances at a skiing resort, and an equally mysterious boy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I'm starting this story of as rated T, though it may upgrade to M, I'm not sure yet. But I definitely will be sure to give notice if I do. This story is all supernatural and spooky, "oooo" (hint hint), though you won't be seeing too much of that in early chapters. **

**This is an Modern Alternate Universe- in which Arthur is a PI, at Camelot. And then he and his team are tested with a case at a mysterious skiing resort, where they soon meet an equally intriguing boy.  
>I hope you enjoy the first chapter! Please review thoughtscomments/questions! I've already typed most of the second chapter, so it should be up shortly.  
>Cheers!<strong>

* * *

><p>There wasn't a case that Camelot didn't solve. Whether it varied from the location of a lost cat to a scandalously public affair, there was no doubt that Arthur would try his up-most to see it through. Unfortunately, the name Pendragon was well-known in more than one district, and more in a notorious notion than one would desire. Uther Pendragon was a prestigious tyrant, the head of a gang which knew no bounds in the city. He was very wealthy, and very powerful. So, you'd imagine it was quite the scandal when his only son took sides with the law, one he liked to keep on the low tabloids.<p>

As it was, Arthur was this man's son, certainly not by choice. Yet, his background instantly put a black spot on his record. A spot that bled through so blatantly, that no matter what school he went to, no matter the amount of hours he put into social services- he would not be allowed onto the force. Too much top-secret documentation, too much at stake to risk upon the entry of a spy. Being anything but, Arthur had received the highest levels in his tests, and despaired over this news- but not for long.

In retaliation, Arthur created his own agency- Camelot. He became a Private Investigator, hired for a reasonable sum, to look into matters that were more delicate than most. Or even just cases that weren't "worth" the force's energy or budget. It wasn't long until the business grew, given Arthur's time and dedication, and with it came new faces. All who worked at Camelot were misfits in some way or another, but each had their own specialized skill. Lancelot, was a lawyer, whom had been fired from his last firm from sabotaging a huge case... Even though he simply saved an innocent man from a life-time of imprisonment. Gaius was an old college professor, laid off into early retirement, he specialized in the sciences, often their forensic specialist. Gwaine was once a police officer, but was fired for his hot head, and reckless behavior.

It was funny, how quickly Arthur could fondly call this peculiar group of misfits his family. They could get fed up with each other, particularly Gwaine whom never gave him a moment's peace, but underneath it all, they deeply cared for each other.

There was a gentle rap on the other side of the office's door. Arthur had rewarded himself with his own personal space, besides the common room, where they spent most of their time, he often went into his office, rather a small square space with a desk crammed into it, to think. He could see the silhouette of his secretary, Guinevere, through the thick paned glass. "Come in," mumbled, rubbing the his tired eyes.

"You're in early, Arthur," says Gwen fondly, presenting him with a hot cup of steaming coffee.

Instantly, he sits up straight, holding out his hands to receive the cup and saucer, with much gratitude. Gwen was absolutely his favorite employ, simply because she did things like this without being told. She quickly caught onto his caffeine addiction, brewing a fresh pot every morning. She had actually been one of his clients at one time, asking him to save her father from being framed for fraud. Almost instantly, her and Lancelot hit it off, and after the case was solved, Arthur offered her a position- which she gladly accepted.

"Haven't been to bed yet," he confessed after sipping some of the black brew, letting it settle into his aching, tired bones.

"Blimey, pulling another all nighter?" called Gwaine from the lobby, obviously eavesdropping from the sofa. He sat there with his own cup of coffee, munching on a chocolate donut.

Arthur was a workaholic. In the past, he may of attempted to deny the fact, but it would be a white lie. His life was encased around his office. When he had cases he would work beyond the clock to figure a solution... When he didn't he still stayed late, finishing up paper work, bills, play rolls, and all those little figures. And Gwaine, since coming to Camelot, had at some point, took on the unannounced job of forcing Arthur into a social life- outside of work. He'd try to drag him to the pub, for a drink, which, very rarely, Arthur would oblige to.

Gwen ignored the comment that came from behind, and placed on her best motherly scowl, "you need to get sleep, you won't be any good to us a zombie."

"God knows, you already look like one!"

"Gwaine!" comes a unison cry of annoyance. He simply chuckles, and carries on eating.

"I understand," Arthur surrendered, with a half smile, and rubbed the stubble that was rooting on his chin. "But, nothing in this case makes sense. Five disappearances, all in the same location, a skiing resort. Yet, no witness, no evidence of another person being there. Their belongs are just left, dumped there in their room. They left with notice to anybody, even though they were all, well behaved college students. It just, makes no sense. There is not the slimiest piece of evidence to point to."

Gwen looks down at the stack of papers on Arthur's desk, full of his own notes. The work he had poured over tirelessly, and still- no lead. "I'll pack the bags," she announces, and turns to leave the office.

From the lobby Gwaine groans in protest, through a mouthful of donut, "what? Seriously? Can't we go another time? I have a date tonight!"

Arthur simply smiles as Gwen closes his door and begins to reprimand Gwaine from the other end... This is why he loves her.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all for the good response. (:  
>And don't worry, Merlin shows up very soon wink wink/. Briefly, but we will definitely be seeing more of him. Also, lots more of Leon. =D  
><strong>**Um, I made this slightly longer than my other chapter, but not much.  
><strong>**Which would be preferable? For me to update shorter chapters faster, or for me to wait to post longer chapters? I don't know, so let me know what you'd prefer!  
><strong>**Please enjoy, chapter 2! Review? (:**

* * *

><p>It was amazing how Gwen did it. Somehow, he found himself, that afternoon on the first flight to the skiing resort. He laid back into his chair, uncomfortable with the lack of leg room, it wasn't first class... But, he supposed, this was already more than he could ask for at such late notice. To get rid of the overwhelming feeling of being suffocated, he plugged in his headphones to his ipod.<p>

The case had started from an email. It was curious to him, why the case would be passed directly from the police, to him. But, then, the owner of the resort wanted things covered discreetly, a bad reputation, such as five separate disappearances would ruin business. Intrigued, Arthur accepted immediately, sending an email in reply, asking for a detailed report of the events, and each victim. It turned out, all were kids from Uni. The only other connection was that they had all rented on the same floor, and their belongs were virtually untouched in their room.

Abruptly, he was disturbed by take off. He held onto the hand rests as the plane shook, feeling sick at the thought of them nose diving from the sky, and making cold impact with the cement below. His neighbor chuckled, not unkindly, "you know, the chances of us crashing are slim to none."

"But there still is a chance," he snaps, patience strained from stress and lack of proper rest.

"Tell you what, I promise, we won't crash. And if we do, I give you permission to haunt me. Deal?"

Arthur relaxes some at the man's confidence, and shrugs. As the turbulence passes, he begins to feel a familiar pang of guilt. He hadn't mean to be rude... "Arthur," he said after a minute, hand held out in a peace offering.

"Leon," the man answers, and gives him a firm shake.

* * *

><p>The rest of the flight was uneventful. He had tried to take Gwen's advice, and take a nap on the way, but he was too uncomfortable to do so. He felt claustrophobic with so many people surrounding him, and would jump wide awake at the slightest jiggle of the plane.<p>

Instead, he distracted himself with his ipod. Occasionally, he'd exchanging a few words with his neighbor Leon. Leon was your average bloke. He wore blue jeans, and pull-over sweater. It turned out he was, too, going to the ski resort, for a vacation. He originally was going to come with his girlfriend, until they broke up a week before the trip. Now, he said, he was coming to meet some ladies. Arthur could only wish that his new acquaintance would be safe, and not turn up missing like the rest.

What felt like centuries later, they finally landed, and he and Leon parted ways with a brief, friendly handshake. He left the plane a little shaky, but content to be back on proper ground. He found his group, waiting just outside for him, each looking more strained than before take off. That was, with the exception of Gwaine (whom just looked like he was waking up from a nap, much to Arthur's envy). He joined them.

Gaius was the worst of them, looking quite pale. Lancelot had placed his hand on his shoulder, standing beside him, as if in fear that the old man would collapse at any second. Gaius brushed off the lawyer's hand. "Don't worry about me, I may be old, but I still am in very good health." Lancelot looked like he wanted protest, and to anyone else he would have.

"Why are we here on such sort notice anyway?" questioned Lancelot, replacing his hand onto Gaius's shoulder.

All eyes now locked onto Arthur, expectant, and he sighed. "Because, we are unable to gather any proper data second hand. Each day we waste, the risk of our never finding these people increases. Or worse, another victim."

The group looked solemn at this news, but nobody protested. Gwaine rolled back his shoulders, and cracked his neck. "Well, what are we waiting for then? The faster we figure this out, the faster we can leave." And then the brunette left to find their luggage.

Even if they were all tired, Gwaine did have a point. No use wasting time standing around. Arthur eyed the remainder of his group. "Alright. Lancelot, go help Gwaine with the luggage. Gwen, Gaius, find a few brochures, or catalogs about the area. I will call for a two cabs.'' He hesitated, "and- don't forget, this is a private affair. Our investigation is to be kept quiet." Everybody gave him a curt nod before splitting up.

* * *

><p>The skiing resort was nice. Nice, being an understatement. It was located on the base of the mountainous terrain, upon small, white powdered hill. It was stone and wood, with vast glass pane windows that allowed you to gaze out to the beautiful mountain side. The inside, unlike the outside wasn't as simple. It was luxurious. The floor was a polished white, like walking on ice. Yet, the lobby maintained it's warmth with red plush chairs, warm, mahogany furniture, and a red-bricked fireplace. The resort was complete with a casino, a cinema, a restaurant, a spa and gym. In total they had five different floors. It was impressive.<p>

It would have been a nice vacation spot. Yet, instead of being charmed by the sheer mass of the resort, Arthur felt intimidated. The disappearances may of occured on one floor, but anybody there could be a suspect. It was going to be difficult to sort through the sheer number of guests that cycled in and out. It was no wonder why five people weren't easily missed here, there was enough to not make that number look suspicious.

They entered the lobby, and a man in a green shirt and dress slack, loaded their luggage on a cart. Arthur went to go check on their rooms, leaving the others to wait. Gaius took a seat in a chair, and Lancelot and Gwen in the neighboring two. Gwaine craned his neck to see into the corridors, spotting flashing lights, and heard the sound of the lottery. "If we are splitting up, I claim the casino."

The front desk clerk didn't even appear to notice Arthur. Instead, he was absorbed in a conversation with the boy in front of him, whom leaned over the counter, fully engaged. Normally, Arthur would have been patient, or civilized, but he was tired- therefore moody. A moody Arthur Pendragon wasn't a good thing. "Excuse me, but if you two don't mind, I'd like to check into my room now."

The clerk straightened up, startled, and the other in front of Arthur edged down to make room for him. "Of course, sir, sorry for the inconvience..." muttered the clerk. "What's your name?"

"Arthur Pendragon."

"Just a moment, please," he types up the name on the computer, and turns to retrieve the keys.

But Arthur isn't really bothered anymore. Instead he is distracted by the boy next to him. He looks to be about nineteen, wearing baggy jeans, a blue shirt, with a brown jacket. He is lanky, with incredibly pale skin, and jet-black hair which feathers out over his forehead. The only thing that startled Arthur, was the black nailpolish on the boy's left thumbnail, though the rest were absent of color. He meant to ask the significance of it, until the clerk returned with the keys.

"Thanks," he muttered, accepting the keys, and dismissing the strange fashion habits of the boy. Instead, he heads back over to his party to pass out the keys. He tosses Lancelot and Gwaine both doubles. "Lancelot and Gwen will room together, Gwaine and Gaius," he nods at the professor, "and I in the single. Everybody get as comfortable as you can, you have two hours, then come to my room for a meeting. And, please, be cautious... We're on floor three."

The same floor that five people just disappeared. It was going to be a long 'vacation'.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: It's been a while. Yeah. Sorry about that. Well, things are finally starting to get interesting. Some more Leon, and a little more about this "Emrys" kid coming up! Yah! Also, much more spooks to come. So, yeah. Review! Please?**

* * *

><p>Arthur would be an idiot to not admit be was nervous. Something about this case compelled him, in an almost unnatural way. Since getting the project, he had only been able to think of it. Now that he was here, that feeling had only grown stronger. Yet, another, smaller (more sensible) part of himself, wanted nothing more than to leave. Arthur Pendragon was too much of a stubborn mule, however, to listen. Instead, he began to unpack his things. Hanging up his suits in the wardrobe, and personalizing the bathroom. When he was satisfied, he tucked his empty suitcase into the corner; turning his attention to the satchel he had left on the neatly made bed. He sat down, crossing his legs as he carefully took out his laptop.<p>

He spent five minutes flipping through the case files he had already memorized; a few more were spent flipping through the songs of his favorite bands. Neither of these provided a useful distraction. Arthur inwardly scolded himself, he should of taken his time to unpack. He glanced down at the clock at the bottom right of the screen, letting out a soft moan- he still had about an hour and a half left to waste. Despite how tired he was, he doubted he be able to rest. And so, Arthur decided that he might as well explore.

Arthur had just stepped out of his room, when he heard a familiar voice. One he couldn't register to a face quite yet. He didn't mean to be eavesdropping, but curiosity overwhelmed him, on whom was having a discussion just down the corner. He shut the door as quietly as possible, and tiptoed nearer to hear more clearly...

"I knew they'd send for one of you sooner or later... But I had been hoping, that'd time would be much later." The voice was hushed, but deep and hostile. Arthur, still trying to match a face to the voice, leaned against the wall, listening keenly.

"Don't make me out to be the bad guy, you know otherwise. If anything, we should be allies, we want the same thing after all." Now, this was a voice he certainly recognized, Leon, the cheeky man he had sat next to on the plane ride over. Only now his tone was cold, businesslike, but also exasperated. It was as if the pair had had this conversation more than once, and the and result was the same.

There was a sharp, pointed laugh in response. "We've never wanted the same thing. Just as much as our methods differ, so do our desires. Don't mistake me for your rift-raft again."

Arthur was too engrossed in deciphering the conversation in his mind, to realize that it was now over. A flushed looking youth came busting around the corner. The voice, and face, instantly flooding back to Arthur.

Ah, it was that curious boy who had been chatty with the clerk. The kid didn't seem to notice him, standing there, completely flustered at being caught in the act of eavesdropping. Heck, Arthur would have thought himself invisible, if not for Leon who bounded the corner moments later.

"Oh... Arthur, isn't it? What are you doing here?"

* * *

><p>"So, you wanted to do some exploring as well?"<p>

Arthur nodded his head, having explained, and apologized (of course), his eavesdropping. It was strictly unintentional, or at least, that is what he'd let Leon believe. He took it, but whether he had actually bought Arthur's explanation was another story. "Yeah, I was itching to try out these slots," he gestured to the machines in front of them. Each perched upon a stool, have engrossed in the flashing images, ears ringing with hope of jackpot.

"Well, that, I understand."

They both chuckled, and silence fell. Both caught in an awkward predicament. Either, they could keep this hidden truce, not to ask any questions. Or it could be broken for answers on both ends. Arthur was the first to snap, tentatively inserting the question in a casual manner.

"So, who was the young man you were chatting with earlier? I believe I've seen him around, just haven't caught the name."

There was a long pause. As if Leon was debating whether or not he should respond. Just when Arthur doubted he had heard him in the first place, he spoke, "he is known as Emrys. I don't know his full name. Both of us have crossed paths, from time to time, and as sparingly as possible. As you heard, we don't exactly get on too well, he's too headstrong to be reasonable with sometimes." Leon sighed, "but he isn't all together bad either."

"I see," he mumbled in reply, unsure how to respond. Dozens of more questioned popped into his mind, but Arthur wouldn't intrude further. Instead, he considered the information he was given.

"Arthur?"

He was snapped from his daze, forced to look at Leon, whom was staring at him intently. "Yes?"

"I'd like to ask you a question."

"Okay..." Be cautious, he inwardly warned himself, feeling anxious under Leon's intense gaze.

"Why are you here, at this resort?"

He swallowed, "for vacation-"

"Oh come on, Arthur, you came to a skiing resort with no ski-is, your whole group, not a single pair. Why are you really here?"

Arthur grinned a little sheepishly at Leon's clever insight, but also at his own stupidity. He had been in such a rush to get here, he hadn't thought about his cover. "Is it really that obvious?"

Leon shrugged, "not to everybody, but to me, it's my job to notice abnormalities."

Just then, lights flickered out. The bright colorful machines gone black, casting the two into darkness, if only briefly before the generator kicked back on. Leon and Arthur started at each other, mirroring expressions of suspicion and excitement. A voice came on over the intercom, explaining the strong winds had knocked down a telephone pole. However, the generators could last days, so they were fine.

Only there was hardly any wind outside that day. Both, Arthur and Leon, knew this. "Speaking of abnormalities..." he whispered ominously.


End file.
